The federal government has debunked the report that there is a link between Monkey Pox and the free medical care offered by the government in the states which have recorded the outbreak of the disease.
The government described the report as fake and mischievous.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement urged Nigerians to disregard the report.
“The Federal Government has not conducted any free medical service or care in either Bayelsa or Rivers State, as alleged in the fake report being circulated. So that could not have been the cause of the outbreak of Monkey Pox in both states.
“Monkey Pox is a virus found only in monkeys and it is rare in human beings. It belongs to the same family as Chicken Pox and Smallpox.
”It is suspected that someone may have contacted it by eating monkey meat, thus triggering the current outbreak,” the minister said.
Mohammed said the government would do everything possible to prevent the spread of the disease.
